Just Maybe: Especially this time of year it seems impossible to stay trim without an assist from our functional food pals. Many supplements claim to help burn fat and squelch appetite--two things that are hard to do in the season of gingerbread and eggnog. Here, a few supplements that intrigue us, and why.
The plucky little raspberry may hold the key to releasing fat stored in cells.Raspberry Ketone: Dr. Oz kicked off raspberry ketone hysteria when he talked about this compound's ability to increase the breakdown of fat in some rat fat cells. The rats' abdominal fat purportedly melted away, which is of course what we all dream of as we struggle through crunches.
The supplement is said to work through two weight regulating mechanisms: the breakdown of fat by norepinephrine; and the release of adiponectin, the fat-busting hormone that regulates fat and sugar metabolism (having low adiponectin is associated with obesity and diabetes.) Intriguingly, research indicates raspberry ketone has the potential to activate "brown" fat; good body fat that revs the metabolism and is the type of fat thin people have in small doses.
Since Dr. Oz mentioned the supplement the market has been flooded with products; our interest is piqued by 250 mg Raspberry Ketone tablets from Natural Sport (manufactured by Utah based Nutraceutical Corporation), which contains two amino acids (L-phenylalanine and L-tyrosine) that support the production of norepinephrine, thus giving a bit more bang for the ketone buck. (Caution: People with PKU [an inborn metabolic error] cannot take phenylalanine and will have to find another raspberry ketone product from a reputable vendor, see below.)
The heat in peppers may help burn calories.Capsaicin (cayenne pepper): As previously reported in iwellville, Korean researchers have demonstrated that capsaicin (the active compound responsible for the hot sensation in chile peppers) boosts the activity of genes associated with turning up the body's furnace. The compound is akin to raspberry ketone; it activates calorie-burning brown fat. The 500 mg Cayenne capsules from Now Foods pack a therapeutic dose of peppers...for us pansies who can't deal with a daily dose of heavily spiced food.
Green tea, like matcha, here, may help prevent storage of excess fat.Green Tea Catechines: Everyone seems to know green tea is good for fighting cancer and ridding the body of toxins, but few are aware that multiple studies have shown antioxidant compounds in green tea (in particular, EGCG or epigallocatechin-3-gallate) target abdominal fat by increasing fat oxidation--
which is akin to tossing your spare tire on a bonfire.
Caffeine plays a role in green tea's metabolism boosting ability, but studies comparing caffeine alone to caffeine with high-levels of green-tea- catechins have shown significantly higher levels of fat-oxidation with the combination.
The research is compelling. One study published in the Journal of Nutrition found total abdominal fat, subcutaneous fat (that tire!) and fasting serum triglycerides (fat in the bloodstream) were all improved when people drank tea containing 625 mg of catechines with 39 mg of caffeine daily. In general, one cup of green tea provides about 142 milligrams of catechins; so a cup of tea each day is not going to cut the fat.
Matcha tea, the concentrated powdered form of green tea, has higher levels of catechins than the typical boxed tea in sachets. Used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, matcha has recently been discovered by health fanatics to be a tasty addition to, say, unsweetened almond milk as a breakfast drink. For those to whom that does not sound like a delicious way to start your day, Life Extension claims its Mega Green Tea Extract (Lightly Caffeinated) contains 98% total polyphenols and 45% epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG)--that's the good stuff.
PGX, a proprietary fiber blend that contains seaweed, is said to help the body eliminate fats and sugars.Polyglycoplex (PGX): OK, this one is a little offbeat, but we respect the opinion of Dr. Mark Hyman who says PGX can treat obesity and diabetes by absorbing fats and sugars and flushing them straight through the digestive tract without being absorbed into the body. PGX is a proprietary blend of three water-soluble fibers made from seaweed and other plant sources, which turn into a gel that helps the body eliminate undesirable elements, so to speak. Normally we'd stay away from a product that's only available from one company (Inovobiologic), however, there are numerous studies published in peer reviewed journals demonstrating the benefits of PGX. One intriguing bit of research in the British Journal of Nutrition shows that PGX reduces the Glycemic Index of common foods, which means it slows the absorption of sugars.
One hitch is it's not easy to get enough PGX to make a difference: either you have to take a scoop of granules dissolved in a huge glass of water ("dissolved" is a misnomer--it's more like a gluey suspension) or heaped on yogurt or other food once a day; or swallow 3-6 capsules per meal, which certainly might take away anyone's appetite.
The humble white bean is making headlines as a carb buster.White Kidney Bean Extract: This is another product that carries the solid gold blessing from Dr. Oz. While many supplements claim to block or slow the absorption of carbohydrates, white kidney bean extract is the most studied and favored by nutritional biochemists. For those who can't seem to curb their appetite for carbohydrates, research suggests it might be worth trying an extract like the 500 mg tablets from Futurebiotics. This supplement has to be taken right before the meal to do its trick of preventing carbohydrates from being broken down into sugar.
A couple of promising formulas: Of course with so many functional ingredients approaching fat-loss from different angles it's only reasonable to ask: what if we put them together in one supplement (after all how many pills can one swallow in a day?) For the most part, combination formulas don't contain enough of anything to provide benefits. But there are a couple of formulas worth considering for possible synergistic effects--meaning the sum may be more than any individual part. (As with any supplement, start with less than the recommended dose to make sure it agrees with your particular system, and work your way up to full strength.)
There are two in particular we think are potential winners: The Raspberry Ketone Diet from BioNutrition, and Thermo-Fit from Natura. The former contains 200 mg of raspberry ketones and 300 mg of green tea extract - it's a double bill, but won't work over night. For faster results David Restrepo, pharmacist and owner of Vitahealth Apothecary in New York, likes Thermo-Fit, which contains green tea extract, white bean extract, an ayurvedic lavendar (Coleus forskohlii) that may boost metabolism and a couple of seaweeds, including supposedly thyroid-activating bladderwrack. Might the pounds just melt away?
Where do you get these things? As with all recommendations on our site, the shout-outs in this story reflect our research and experience--not any financial arrangement (we don't get paid to tout products!) Because our readers ask, we offer the following web sites as reputable vendors we often use that may stock the supplements mentioned in this story: Vitahealth, Willner Chemists, Smallflower and The Natural Online. For Matcha Tea we are fans of matchasource.